Cassidy and Butch's backstory, etc.

[owenpeterson]

We've seen so much of the idiotic trio Jessie, James, and Meowth and learned about their complexity that I'm beginning to wonder if there is anything regarding Butch and Cassidy's backstory or anything that would make them noble at all. Or are they just gleefully evil.

We've seen them pop up from time to time, and more often than not they have more efficient plans at catching Pokemon on a large scale, Giovanni holds them in high regard, and it's always Ash and friends that wind up foiling their plans.

I'm curious as to why they became Rockets, whether or not they might have their own plans to pursue Ash and his friends, whether or not they might wind up helping them from time to time, whether Giovanni has berated them for their failures and so forth.

I'm also curious as to what happened to them since Sinnoh because they were COMPLETELY ABSENT from Unova and I don't think that they've appeared in Kalos yet.

I've also imagined what it would be like if Butch and Cassidy wound up being forced to TEAM UP with Jessie, James, and Meowth for certain missions.

Thoughts?

 

[Hidden Mew]

Butch and Cassidy initially came off to me as the anti-Team Rocket trio, so I don't think that there was any desire on the writers to give them a backstory, at least not beyond Jessie and Cassidy's rivalry that wasn't explained too well. They were more competent than the Team Rocket trio, at least during the original series, but they also seemed to be more evil as a result. At least Jessie and James have moments where they care about their Pokemon or want to help others, even if the latter is usually for their own benefits, so despite being villains, they don't really come off as being completely evil. Butch and Cassidy never gave me that impression, especially with their Pokemon.

I'm also not sure if Giovanni still holds them in high regard. They've lost plenty of times before, despite being more competent than the Team Rocket trio, and they seem to be reporting more to Professor Namba than Giovanni since the Johto arc. I don't think that they appeared in BW because the Team Rocket trio were already more serious, so they didn't see a need to bring them back as their counterparts. Although, Cassidy and Butch haven't really been competent since Chronicles where they became like a less funny/entertaining version of Jessie and James, especially with that name gag for Butch being driven straight into the ground, so maybe they also didn't want to bring them in since they wanted to keep Team Rocket serious for a good portion of the series. Personally, I'd be fine if they didn't show up again. After the original series where they became more comical, they were much less interesting and threatening, so in my opinion, nothing of value would be lost if they didn't appear again.

 

[garrison-san]

I'm also curious as to what happened to them since Sinnoh because they were COMPLETELY ABSENT from Unova

They were in an episode of the Rocket-Dan radio series, if you count that.

We've seen nothing particularly "noble" about Butch and Cassidy but I wouldn't describe them as "gleefully evil" either. In the long run, they proved to be quite harmless.